Engineering codes of ethics, case scenarios, and societies that enforce them Essay

Ethics can be defined as a branch within the wider field of philosophy whose main concern is addressing the issue of morality. Morality as a concept seeks to justify actions as good or bad, right or wrong and whether such actions are justified and virtuous. Ethics in itself is divided into many categories which normally vary to suit the issue at hand. From a general perspective, ethics can be widely grouped into theoretical and practical ethics. The theoretical aspect is concerned with theoretical meanings of moral propositions and the manner in which their truth values can be ascertained. The practical aspect of ethics seeks to address the possibility of achieving moral outcomes in a given situation (Luegenbiehl, 2003). Engineering ethics in this context is part of applied ethics that is skewed towards the examination and the setting of standards concerning the duty of an engineer to the general public, how they should attend to their clients, their duty to their employer, and their obligation towards enhancing and maintaining the moral integrity of the engineering profession. Engineering as a profession is very diverse in terms of the possible branches one can venture into. This diversity make some of the engineering fields share only very limited principles. While most of these disciplines tend to complement each other, these engineers are bound to work in different environments. As such there cannot be a unifying code of ethics for the whole engineering fraternity. Ethical codes in this profession are largely dependent on the exact field of specialization and the jurisdiction of practice. Another factor that comes into play is whether an engineer is providing consultancy service to his clients or the engineer is an employee of a given manufacturing enterprise (Colby & Sullivan, 2008). In most countries, the engineers who attend to their clients are normally referred to as professional engineers and are usually licensed. They abide by codes that ensure professional ethics and to a larger extent governed by a number of statutes. Their counterparts who practice in the manufacturing industry have to abide by certain laws, key among them being whistle blowing and also the law of product liability. Their practice leans more towards business ethics as compared to engineering ethics. Professional engineers are usually in private practice and are always responsible for drafting some of the codes of ethics that govern their profession. Engineers who practice in the industrial sector do not enjoy accreditation by the relevant government agencies. It is an arguable fact that despite the field and sector of practice, these engineers face similar ethical issues. Similar in the sense that they share the same root causes but only change slightly in form depending on the discipline and the sector of practice (Luegenbiehl, 2003). Engineering societies have for a long time drafted their own codes of ethics. These codes of ethics have undergone a series of refinement over time in a bid to make them more viable to overcoming ethical issues. Such codes of ethics usually act as general guidelines since ethical issues are very diverse and as such some of these codes have to be adjusted to suit the situation at hand. In the United Kingdom, a notable example is the ‘Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)’, which chose to incorporate its ethical codes into the standards of conduct. The code of ethics in engineering basically seeks to ensure the wellbeing of the public, the clients in the case of a professional engineer, the employer for the engineers who practice in the industry, and for the enhancement of the moral integrity of the engineering profession (Colby & Sullivan, 2008). Any engineering profession is susceptible to a number of risks some of which may be detrimental to a wider section of the population. With this risk in mind, the first aim of an engineer is to ensure the safety and health, not only of the general public but also for themselves and their workmates. Engineers are required to subscribe to principles that ensure sustainable development in the course of their undertakings. Since the engineering profession is very diverse, an engineer who may be very competent in his field of specialization may not be able to achieve much in another line of engineering. For most of the engineering societies around the world, there are basic ethical codes that they seem to share in common. A code of ethics in the field of engineering always restricts engineers to stick to their areas of specialization. This is to avoid exposing himself and the general public to the imminent danger. An engineer is required to speak the truth on the technical aspects of a job and maintain a professional relationship with the employer or his client. Conflict of interest is a sure way to compromise and as such should always be avoided by an engineer. An engineer is supposed to safeguard the integrity and the interest of the engineering profession. In as much as an engineer is supposed to advance career wise, they have an obligation of ensuring professional growth for their juniors. According to the law of whistle blowing, an engineer is more obliged to safety than he is to the client or to his employer. This law requires the engineer to report cases where their employers or clients fail to follow their directions and in the process are exposing the public to potential danger. In some instances, some the relevant authorities fail to take action and this may end up in the engineer going public (Luegenbiehl, 2003). The most notable cases of disaster in the field of engineering have been caused by both technical and ethical issues. While some of these accidents have been due to technical aspects and design inadequacies, others have been due to inefficient management culture. Some of the cases that have been established to have an ethical dimension on their occurrence include the Chernobyl disaster, Bhopal disaster, Boston molasses accident, Johnstown Flood, just to mention but a few (Pfatteicher, 2001). Chernobyl disaster was an incident that took place in Ukraine, and it involved the meltdown in a nuclear reactor plant. This accident was to a larger extent blamed on human error. The personnel were blamed for using a limited ‘operational reactivity margin. ’ The disaster caused to the people living within the neighbourhood was immense in gravity and most of the effects were of a long term nature. The mental health of the people was extremely affected; cases of cancer were later reported to be rampant in the area. All these effects came about due to the irradiation of the area by radioactive material. The workers were also affected with more than thirty losing their lives within a span of three months from the time of occurrence of the disaster. An advisory group that was later formed to look into the cause of this disaster blamed the people who were responsible for the design of the power plant. They failed to consider certain pertinent aspects of the design which could have prevented such an occurrence or which could have ensured that the accident did not proceed to reach the level it did. It was realized that in the course of preparation and subsequent testing of turbine generators, it was done without the incorporation of systems that were responsible for technical protection. This was viewed to have been a breach of the safety provisions that were required for the actual technical exercise (Pfatteicher, 2001). Some of the most outstanding organizations that are concerned with engineering ethics include the ‘Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE)’ in the United Kingdom, the ‘Canadian Society for Professional Engineers,’ and the ‘National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)’ which have been seen to be championing for the upholding of ethical practices within the engineering field. The reasons for their establishments are to ensure that engineers in private practice, the government and in the manufacturing sector are able to subscribe to a common code of ethics within a given jurisdiction. Such bodies have certain punitive measures to their members in cases where ethics appear to have been sidelined in making decisions. To ensure that engineers adhere to such codes set by these organizations, it is mandatory to be registered with certain bodies within given jurisdictions to practice as an engineer (Haws, 2001). There has been a general drift towards formulating an all encompassing code of ethics for all engineers throughout the world. This has been noted by the fact that the codes formulated by most societies throughout the world appear to be having certain similarities. While this appears to be a very noble idea, some room and allowances will have to be allowed to accommodate the different cultures in the world. It is deemed that developing a set of common ethical codes and supplementing it with additional entries that regard the cultural setting and the exact field of specialization within engineering. The codes should be set out in such a manner that no confusion can be reported within a given jurisdiction (Luegenbiehl, 2003). References: Colby, A. , & Sullivan, W. M. 2008, â€Å"Ethics Teaching in Undergraduate Engineering Education. † Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 97. Haws, D. R. 2001, â€Å"Ethics Instruction in Engineering Education: a (Mini) Meta-analysis. † Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 90. Luegenbiehl, H. C. 2003, Themes for an International Code of Engineering Ethics. Retrieved on 9th February 2010, from: . Pfatteicher, S. K. , 2001, â€Å"Teaching Vs. Preaching: Ec2000 and the Engineering Ethics Dilemma. † Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 90.

Ethical Analysis of Citigroup

Company Assessment: An Analysis of CitiGroup 1 Company Assessment: An Analysis of CitiGroup Introduction With origins dating back to 1812, Citigroup (Citi) is a global diversified financial services holding company providing both individuals and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services. These services include; consumer banking and credit; corporate and investment banking; securities brokerage; transaction services; and wealth management.Headquartered in Manhattan, NY, Citi currently has over 260,000 employees servicing 200 million customer accounts in more than 160 countries around the globe. Citi is organized into two divisions; Citicorp and Citi Holdings. Citicorp manages the consumer and institutional core client business, while Citi Holdings manages the brokerage and asset management divisions. Based on financial data obtained from the Citi website, the core st business (i. e. Citicorp), represents 92. 9% of the $19. 4 billion ($US) of the 1 quarter 2012 revenue.The total revenues of Citicorp are geographically diversified across the globe with North America representing 40% of the total, Asia at 22%, Latin America at 20% and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) accounting for the remaining 18% (Citi Financials, 2012) Over its 200 year history, Citi has been a leading innovator in financial services starting in the 1920’s by becoming the first major U. S. bank to offer compound interest on savings accounts. Also, through the acquisition of Second National Bank, Citi has the distinction of being the first bank in New York to provide separate banking services for women.Further innovations include; offering unsecured personal loans and customer checking accounts in 1928 and 1936 respectively (Citi Timeline, 2012). Citi’s original mission of offering traditional banking services evolved as they grew, however, since the financial crisis of 2008, Citi has been selling off many of the non-core operations to refocus on the t raditional banking model. The refocused mission as stated on the corporate website is: â€Å"We strive to create the best outcomes for our clients and customers with financial solutions that are simple, creative and responsible. (Citi, 2012) The purpose of this paper is to conduct a review and overall ethical assessment of Citi which will include an overview of the mission, vision and values, ethics and compliance codes, leadership, corporate social responsibility as well as the corporate governance structure. Mission, Vision and Values Clicking on the â€Å"Our Company† link of the Citi website, you are immediately drawn to the bolded text stating the corporate vision: â€Å"160 Countries. 1 Vision. Citi works tirelessly to provide consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services.We strive to create the best outcomes for our clients and customers with financial solutions that are simple, creative and responsible. à ¢â‚¬  (Citi, 2012) It is clear that Citi has a vision that places them as the global bank focused on client service, innovation and financial responsibility. Expanding upon the vision statement is the mission statement of Citi and the principles that guide them. The Mission statement is: â€Å"Meeting the World’s Challenges. Seizing its Greatest Opportunities† (Citi Mission, 2012).The four key principles that guide the company as they endeavor to deliver on their vision and mission are; Common Purpose; Ingenuity; Leadership; and Responsible Finance. Based on the stated vision, mission and principles, in my opinion, Citi can be described as a focused team, rewarded based on talent and merit, operating in an innovative culture with one clear goal to deliver transparent and prudent financial products globally. I consider the written vision, mission and guiding principles of Citi to be quite inspiring.Ethics and Compliance Codes In early 2005, Charles Prince, then CEO of Citi announced a bold strategy to transform the financial giant that was Citi. His plan, known as the â€Å"Five Point Ethics Plan†, was designed to; improve ethical training; focus on talent and development; integrate ethics into performance appraisals and compensation; improve communications; and strengthen ethical controls. (Restoring Ethics, 2012) As the successor of Sandy Weill, who, Johnson (2012) suggests typifies the ethically neutral leader (p. 19), Prince faced considerable skepticism on whether his plan could work in such a large and complex organization that had a history of significant regulatory scrutiny, and was linked to some of the biggest scandals in corporate history (e. g. Worldcom). While Prince had some critics, he also had some support. In the January 28, 2005 edition of BusinessWeek Online, Prince was described as a smart, logical thinker and another quote made by an analyst was†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"I believe that non-charismatic Prince is going to be a more p ositive force at Citigroup than the other three charismatic CEOs going back to the 1960s. (Restoring Ethics, 2012) I believe he vision that Prince delivered after taking over from Weill, continues to be embraced by the current Citi CEO, Vikram Pandit as well as the Board of Directors. One of the key responsibilities of the Citi Board of Directors is to review and approve the Citi Code of Conduct (the â€Å"Code†). The Code outlines Citi’s principles, values and standards of practice for all employees of 2 Citi and as such can be viewed as Citi’s ethics code. Employees are expected to read and sign the Code, not necessarily as a condition of employment, but as a formalized agreement to abide by the standards of behavior outlined therein.Although not a formal contract of employment, the formal approach to signing the Code can be viewed as being integrated into HR practices. A point of interest is that Citi also strengthens the employee requirement to abide by the code by stating that even if an employee doesn’t return a signed copy, they are still bound by its terms and conditions. In fact, in the introduction to the Code, Citi is clear that failure to adhere to the Code can result in immediate termination of employment. The latest revision to the Code was made in 2011.The code is available in 26 different languages. While in the past, employees had periodic training on the Code, it appears that the training was ad hoc, but according to the Corporate Citizenship Report, in early 2012, Citi rolled out a formalized ethics training program for all employees. In addition to the Code that exists for all employees, there is an additional Code of Ethics that applies solely to the senior financial executives (CEO, CFO, etc†¦) and financial administrative staff.While it may appear that this is a sign of a higher ethical standard at Citi, as with the NYSE requirement for a firm-wide code of ethics, Sarbanes Oxley mandates a requirement for a separate Code of Ethics for senior executives. In reading both the firm-wide Code as well as the Code of Ethics for the senior executives, it’s interesting to note that the Code of Ethics reads like a very compliance based document, while the firm-wide Code reads more like a call to action for all employees to act with the utmost integrity. In fact, the word integrity appears 9 times in a relatively short document.In all fairness to Citi, they do specify that the Code of Ethics should be considered a supplement to the firm-wide Code and they provide a link to the Code as part of the document. Citi also has a set of ethical principles that applies to suppliers. In short, Citi expects that suppliers adhere to the same high standards of practice that governs Citi. The key areas that the principles apply to are; ethical business practices (Integrity, transparency and community engagement); human rights in the workplace; environmental sustainability; and management systems and implementation.Further information on these principles is available at http://www. citigroup. com/citi/citizen/people/diversity/supplierprinciples. htm. One final point regarding the ethical policies of Citi would be that they operate a 24/7 ethics hotline where employees can report ethical concerns and remain anonymous to the extent that the law will allow. While it is unclear if the hotline is operated independently of Citi, (it appears as if it is not) there is a strong focus on confidentiality and although I was unable to identify the name of the individual, the Code identifies that Citi has an ethics officer.Leadership It is the responsibility of a leader to establish and foster the organizational climate. The leader’s ability to cast shadow or shed light will permeate throughout an organization and ultimately shape the culture. In short, regardless of who is named the formal ethics officer, the leader of the organization is charged with that duty. Citi is managed by an executive team of 24 senior leaders from key regions and divisions across Citigroup's global network. While the ethnic origins of the executive are not specifically mentioned, there appears to be a wide range of ethnic backgrounds on the executive committee.Unlike the Board of Directors however, the executive committee has only 1 woman, Cece Stewart who is the president of US, Consumer and Commercial Banking. Citi maintains a compensation philosophy that attempts to align compensation with their overall Mission statement. The key objectives of this philosophy are to; enhance shareholder value; attract talent; recognize contributions; manage risk; provide independent oversight; and transparency to all stakeholders. You can visit http://www. citigroup. com/citi/investor/data/comp_phil_policy. df? ieNocache=340 for further information on Citi’s compensation policy. Some evidence to support the integrity of Citi’s compensation practices would be that, according to the 2011 Proxy Statement, as part of the process for making incentive awards for 2011, the Personal and Compensation committee considered the April 2011 â€Å"say on pay† vote which received as 92. 9% favorable. Perhaps the vote was biased upwards as a result of Pandit’s decision to only accept a â€Å"total† compensation package of $1 for 2010, and most of 2009?While I was unable to find any concise data that represents the pay gap between the top executives and the front line employees, I am pretty confident that for all of 2010, and the better part of 2009, the CEO was the lowest paid employee of Citi. The table on the following page provides some compensation data for the past 3 years for the key senior executives of Citi. 3 Change in Value of Deferred All Other Compensation Compenstion ($) ($) 0 0 0 73,047 51,995 49,117 0 0 0 0 14,700 0 3,750 14,700 9,800 14,700 14,700 9,800 14,700 14,700 Executive Member Year Salary ($) 1,671,370 1 125,001 500,000 500,000 416,667 500,000 500,000 500,000 500,000Bonus ($) 5,331,452 0 0 2,200,000 Stock Awards ($) 0 0 0 Option Awards ($) 7,839,581 0 0 Total ($) 14,857,103 1 128,751 7,160,916 4,728,462 5,063,817 12,984,481 9,509,800 11,276,454 11,354,536 0 0 11,446,900 10,116,895 10,400,007 Vikram Pandit CEO John Gerspach CFO John Havens COO Brian Leach Chief Risk Officer Manuel Medina-Mora CEO Latin America 2011 2010 2009 2011 2010 2009 2011 2010 2009 2011 2,333,333 2,039,836 4,166,667 4,583,333 4,750,000 2,719,781 9,000,000 10,327,374 434,380 5,400,000 2,039,836 5,000,000 3,400,000 2011 2010 2009 546,966 546,966 546,966 4,181,214 0 0 3,998,939 2,719,781 7,450,911 0 9,328,010 361,984 2,119,018 163,047 0 0 0 Source: taken from the 2011 Citi Proxy Report While on the surface, multimillion dollar compensation packages may appear egregious, however, for each of the executives above, approximately 50% of the total compensation package is deferred and/or exists under a multiyear vesting provision that is not only tied to tenure at Citi, it is directly tied to the performance of the organization. For 2011, there does appear to be a â€Å"traditional† pay gap between the CEO and the other â€Å"C’s† and I suspect that the gap widens significantly as you move down to the front line workers.By looking at just the total cash (salary and bonus) component of the compensation packages that range from a low of $2. 5 million to a high of $7 million, many people will undoubtedly feel several of the other condemning emotions. But to add a little perspective, for 2011, Citi’s charitable giving was more than 2 times the value of the total (cash and deferred) executive compensation of the individuals above. Also, at a total of $6. 4 billion, the 2011 commitment to climate change initiatives represented over 8% of Citi’s 2011 revenues, and almost 60% of net income.I must admit, besides a little wallet envy, I feel mostly admiration for the work, both social and economic that t he leadership of Citi has done that started in 2005, was derailed during the financial crisis, and has continued over the past few years. Based on this evidence, I would challenge an assertion that the current management is hoarding rewards at the expense of all other stakeholders. When Prince took over leadership of Citi in 2005, his calm, intellectual demeanor was quite the opposite of the â€Å"larger than life† charismatic CEO that preceded him.Since taking over from Prince in 2007, Pandit appears to have followed by example and has demonstrated some remarkable unselfish actions as he navigated Citi through the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Despite the critics of the financial industry, Citi, through sound leadership, ranks well on the triple bottom line accounting metrics that forms the foundation of Corporate Social Responsibility. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) One of the biggest criticisms of CSR reporting is that it is simply a public re lations tool designed as window dressing to improve image.After the financial crisis of 2008, no other industry would have as many critics as the financial industry. To provide a little evidence of the integrity of an organization’s CSR claims may help st soothe the critics. Since the early part of the 21 century, Citi has been consistently been a constituent company of the Dow Jones World and North America Sustainability Indexes as well as the FTSE 4Good Index, and in 2011, Citi also became a component of the STOXX Global ESG Leaders indices. It is clear that the CSR activities of Citi are being recognized outside the organization and may have a little more credibility than window dressing.Citi defines its Corporate Social Responsibility framework as Global Citizenship. The three key focus areas of their citizenship efforts are; delivering financial solutions at affordable costs, sustaining the environment 4 and valuing Citi employees. Progress towards these three focus area s are provided as a summary page within the Global Citizenship report, but also as separate publication (attached as Appendix A). There are four key metrics for Financial Inclusion performance indicator. First, they provide charitable contributions (Strategic Giving), which at $121. 9 million for 2011 (1. % of net income), and represents an average annual growth rate of 13% since the end of the financial crisis in 2008. Second, is Small Business Lending, which at almost $8 billion for 2011, has grown by 75% since 2009, and actually surpassed the 2011 goal of $7 billion. nd The third metric is the provision of affordable housing lending, which at $2. 0 billion, places Citi, for the 2 consecutive year, the top affordable housing lender in the US. The final metric under Financial Inclusion is Global Microfinance. In 2011, Citi has provided microloans to almost one million lenders of which 92% of loans where to women.Under sustaining the environment performance indicator, Citi includes metrics for e-communications, clean energy, greenhouse gas emissions and using ESRM screening criteria for financial transactions. As one of the world’s leading credit card companies, Citi’s movement towards paperless statements has, at 29% penetration (2011), doubled since 2008. Under the clean energy metric, in 2007, Citi announced a 10 year, $50 billion commitment to activities directed at mitigating climate change. As of the end of 2011, 5 years in to the program, 73% of the total has been committed.Under the greenhouse gas emissions metric, in 2005, Citi announced a 10 year plan for a 25% reducing in greenhouse gas emissions. As of 2011, there has been a 13. 6% percent reduction since the 2005 baseline. In 2011, the integration of environmental and social factors into the traditional risk management screens for project financing covered over 400 projects globally. Citi appears to have a significant focus on environmental concerns through written policies and state ments as well as real action. Further information on Citi’s position on the environment and their ESRM polices can be found at http://www. itigroup. com/citi/environment/ The final area covered under the report card is the metrics that cover the way Citi values their employees. The key metrics are; training; satisfaction; diversity; and employee volunteering. Citi has a very diverse workforce, and though 61 network groups consisting of 15,000 employee members in 18 locations around the world, Citi encourages employee diversity and support. Employee satisfaction has been increasing since the end of the financial crisis and at 73% satisfaction for 2011; it represents an overall 10% increase since 2009.It is unclear whether the increase in a result of simply happy to have a job in a tough economy, or true job satisfaction, in any event, Citi appears to have a more satisfied workforce. Employee training has seen a remarkable increase since the 2008 financial crises. Training acti vities cover areas such as, leadership, management, product and compliance and since 2008; training hours have increased by over 80% at 38. 4 hours per year per employee. Employees of Citi provided almost 800,000 hours of volunteering activities during 2011, almost 30% growth over 2010.It seems that giving back to the community not only is evidenced by financial metrics but also by the employee’s action. Although Citi’s key performance indicators focus on; Financial Inclusion; Environmental Sustainability; and Valuing our Employees, the Global Citizenship report is quite extensive and can be viewed as a supplement to the Citi Annual Report. In addition to the three key focus areas covered above, the report also covers corporate governance, which is covered in the section that follows, as well as, how Citi serves the customer and maintains sustainable and diverse supply chain relationships.The report outlines both Citi’s achievements as well as the challenges the y face and breaks down Citizenship on a regional basis. In guiding their citizenship activities, Citi uses a stakeholder engagement approach to and list their stakeholders as; Customers; Investors; Employees; Regulators; Suppliers; Community Leaders; Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s); Socially Responsible Investors; Media; and Competitors. The communication channel used for each stakeholder and examples are included as Appendix B.Corporate Governance Corporate Governance has been defined as â€Å"The framework of rules and practices by which a board of directors ensures accountability, fairness, and transparency in a company's relationship with its stakeholders (financiers, customers, management, employees, government, and the community). † (Governance, 2012). As an appendix to the annual proxy statement, Citi provides the Citigroup Inc. Corporate Governance Guidelines. Consistent with the overall corporate mission, the corporate governance mission is†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Citigroup Inc. the â€Å"Company†) aspires to the highest standards of corporate governance and ethical conduct: doing what we say; reporting results with accuracy and transparency; and maintaining full compliance with the laws, rules and regulations that govern the Company’s businesses. † (Citi Governance, 2012). This comprehensive document outlines the guidelines and policies with respect to the responsibilities, term, expected qualifications, and compensation of the Board and the committees thereof.Of notable mention in the governance policy would be the restriction against interlocking directorates, the requirement for personal stock ownership, and the annual review and assessment of board performance conducted by the Nomination, Governance and Public Affairs Committee. 5 One shortfall of the policy would be the lack of any set term for a board member. While there are two schools of thought with respect to fixed term appointments, in my opinion, the advantag e of bringing in fresh ideas with new board members would outweigh any potential loss of knowledge that would exit with an entrenched board member.I believe staggered board appointments with fixed term would be an enhancement to the Citi corporate governance policy. As mentioned in the Ethics and Compliance Codes section above, as a requirement to list on the NYSE, a company is required to have a formal code of ethics. In addition to this requirement, the NYSE also requires a minimum standard for the independence of directors. To meet the regulation, Citi would need a minimum of 9 independent directors. At the end of 2011, 11 of the 13 member board were independent. The two connected members were Pandit, and the Citi Chairman, Michael O’Neill.The remaining board members consist of a diverse group of active and retired business professionals, a philanthropic foundation president, a former state federal reserve bank official, a leader from the investment management community as well as Ivey league academics. Although only 3 of the board members are women, almost 40% of the members are visible minorities which also includes the Chairman and the CEO of Citi. Simply put, the Board of Directors of Citi is comprised of a very comprehensive representation of their stakeholder groups as identified in Appendix B.As of 2011, there are 5 standing committees of the Board: Audit; Risk Management and Finance; Executive; Personnel and Compensation; and Nomination, Governance and Public Affairs. A separate Charter exists for each committee that outlines the mission, duties and requirements regarding independence of the committee members. The Audit and Risk management committee is comprised of all independent directors. O’Neill is the current Chair of the Executive as well as the Personnel and Compensation Committees (non-voting) and he sits as a voting member of theNomination, Governance and Public Affairs Committee. Among other roles, the Nomination, Governance and Public Affairs Committee is responsible for the environmental sustainability and stakeholder engagement activities of Citi. Since 2005, non-employee directors receive $75,000 per year plus a deferred stock award valued at $150,000 on the date of issuance with a 2 year vesting period. With the requirement to own stock of Citi, as well as the deferred vesting of the majority of the compensation they will receive, directors of Citi are incented to act in the best interest of the organization.SEC Investigations As a publicly traded, multinational, diversified financial services organization, incorporated in the U. S. , it should not come as any surprise that in the course of their business dealings, both the organization and the individual staff of Citi will be subject to SEC litigations and investigations on a frequent basis. In fact, a search on the SEC website (http://www. sec. gov/litigation. shtml), and filtering the search parameters to include only â€Å"Litigation† an d â€Å"Regulatory Actions† you will actually find too many to list.In fact, since January 1, 2005, there have been a total of 284 Regulatory Actions and 140 Litigations that has Citi named. It would be quite misleading to state that all litigations listed Citi as the defendant, however from my brief review of some of the search results there appears to be complaints related to the accounting treatment of credit derivatives, fair value misstatements of sub-prime mortgage exposure, many of which listed most of the financial services industry. There was however one interesting investigation made in 2008 that questioned the independence of the Board of Directors.While I can’t comment too much on the ethical leadership of the firm leading up to the financial crisis, evidence such as the highly publicized investigations, along with the involvement in Worldcom and other major financial collapses, certainly cast a shadow on the past activities. However, during the tenure of t he current CEO, as well as his predecessor, the Board of Directors appear to have addressed many of the high level governance ethical shortcomings that were past investigations by the SEC.Conclusion Perhaps the most difficult aspect of conducting a review of an organization is coming to a definitive stance, based on concrete evidence, on the degree of ethical culture that exists inside the organization. Without living inside an organization, how can you state that ethical conduct permeates across all aspects of the firm activities? Operating in an industry that has undoubtedly has the highest level of public cynicism regarding ethical conduct, how could anyone take the stance that any financial services company scores well from any ethical standpoint?Despite this challenge, my impression from this review is that Citi does indeed rank well. Since taking over the firm in 2007, carrying on from Prince’s â€Å"Five Point Ethics Plan†, Pandit, has lead the firm back on firm er financial ground by shedding much of the troubled assets and refocusing the operation more towards a traditional banking model. Despite participating in the TARP and subsequently paying back all funds borrowed, under Pandit’s leadership, Citi has become one of the best capitalized banks in the U.S. He won high 6 praise from public opinion by accepting a total compensation package of $1 for most of 2009 and all of 2010, becoming undoubtedly, the lowest paid employee of Citi. Those types of unselfish acts, despite his personal net worth, should be viewed as a sign of an admirable leadership style. The critics statement that he doesn’t need/deserve the money is, in my opinion, ludicrous and shouldn’t overshadow what is a truly admirable action.An ethical culture starts with an ethical leader posed ready to lead by example and in my opinion, by his example, Mr. Pandit ranks very well. In addition to the profit motive, Citi approaches it business with a demonstrat ed commitment to environmental and social key performance metrics, engaging with all stakeholders, going above and beyond the simple legal requirements and acting as an agent of moral influence with suppliers.Adding to this ethical framework a very committed CEO, a strong board representing stakeholders, and ethics training, it’s hard to argue that the firm lacks a robust ethical framework. It appears as if the vision of Prince continues to be embraced by Pandit and Citi’s current leadership. While it may be a long road ahead in the court of public opinion, Citi appears to be on the right track to shed the degree of cynicism the financial industry has, but like most future outcomes, only time will tell. 7 References

To What Extent Has the World Trade Organisation Helped?

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established in 1995 after the Uruguayan Round. It embodies the international organization which deals with a wider range of aspects related to the international trade. The WTO controls the international trading system. It represents an evolved instrument of negotiation in comparison with the preceding General Agreements on Trade on Tariff and Trade (GATT). Hoekman, B. M. & Kostecki, M. M. (2009) WTO includes many important improvements on economic issues, disciplines and commitments of the international negotiation in addition it shape the current Multilateral Trading System (MTS).United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2008) Reports have shown that WTO was creating a favorable condition for business in Peru during the last 10 years. WTO (2007) since the beginning as member of WTO Peruvian governments have express their interest to continue doing necessary improvement in its legislation in order to achieve a completely integration to the global market as well as liberation of trade, WTO (2007) actively participation in negotiations and integration agreements is evidence of that.For instance Peru has bilateral agreements in force with: Unites States of America, Chile, Mexico, Canada, Singapore, China, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Panama, Andean community (CAN), Asia pacific Cooperation Forum (APEC) Latin America Integration association (LAIA), MERCOSUR, agreements signed with : Venezuela, Costa Rica, Guatemala, European Union, and Agreements in negotiation: El Salvador, Honduras, Doha program, Pacific alliance.WTO. org (2012 Foreign capitals entering to the local market in Peru are steadily increasing as result of trade negotiations also it has made possible to some local industries access to the international market. However Peru still depends on commodities exportation, for example traditional products that are mainly agricultural and minerals such as Cooper, gold, oil and fish meal represent the 75. 7% and n ontraditional products such as textiles and agro industrials products represents 23. 92 %. INEI (2012) in my view this may bring negative consequences to the local economy if Peru remain exporting non value added goods. Since 1995 Peru is a member of the WTO, WTO. org (2012). Agreements were incorporated to the Peruvian legislation 1996 however due to internal political troubles It was not possible to see the real impact of these agreements until 2002.At that time deep concern in the government in turn made to undertake political reforms in order to promote a major participation of the country into the WTO. During the period from 2000 to 2002 Peru experienced grow of the domestic products (GDP) of 4. 6 %, a slightly increment from 2002 and 2006 of 5. 8 % however after coming into effect important bilateral and regional agreements the GDP grew 7. 8 % in 2010.MICETUR (2012) WTO plays the role of international intermediary between developing and developed economies bringing apparently favorable condition to less developing world when facing negotiation for instance in the DOHA round of November of 2012 emerged the initiative to help developing countries by launching the Doha program which aim to find solutions to important issues affecting developing countries such as obstacle to access to international market of agricultural products, development of the agriculture industry by technical assistance, enhance the capacity, dispute settlement and industrial tariffs as well as services.United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2008) To conclude WTO propose the legal framework to create better conditions especially during commercial negotiations to achieve the development however Countries requires improve its capacities in order to be competitive and capable to avail this benefits.

Raymond Carver Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Raymond Carver - Essay Example When the family moved to California, Carver became interested in writing and took a course from John Gardner, which had a profound effect on him. He continued his studies at Chico State University, Humboldt State College, and the University of Iowa. He earned a BA in 1963. He became a textbook editor at Science Research Associates, Palo Alto, but was fired in 1970. He went on to teach at universities throughout the United States and from 1980-1983 was a professor of English at Syracuse University. While Carver was at Humboldt, he wrote his first story, "Pastoral," as well as his first poem, "The Brass Ring." Although his biography states he started his writing career as a poet, he confessed he was never a "born" poet (Liukkonen) and although he eventually had his poetry published, it never received the acclaim of his short stories. His story "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please" was written in 1967 and with the editing expertise of Gordon Lish, he published a collection of stories of the same name set in Eureka, California in 1976 (Boddy). During the ensuing years, alcohol was a problem for him and drinking became a full-time pursuit. In fact, alcohol became a subject in several of his stories. On June 2, 1977, Carver stopped drinking and became active in Alcoholics Anonymous. He begin seeing poet Tess Gallagher and divorced his wife MaryAnn in 1982. He lived with Gallagher and married her two months before he died from lung cancer in 1988 (Liukkonen). Carver has said that everything we write is, in some way, autobiographical. In a New York Times article he said he considered the short story a vehicle for transforming the commonplace and said, "it is possible to write a line of seemingly innocuous dialogue and have it send a chill along the reader's spine" (Carver par. 9). His writing style is muted and anticlimactic but creates a tense atmosphere. His life is basically divided into two sections, one before he gave up drinking and met Tess and one after. "Cathedral," a short story contained in a collection by the same name, gives him the chance to write in retrospect, utilizing his life experiences in the first section of his life as part of his writing within the second part of his life. His father's alcoholism possibly led to Carver's addiction to alcohol since an addictive personality can be and often is passed down. "Cathedral" was published in 1983, after Carver had joined AA, but the characters in the story spend a great dea l of time in intervals of drinking and smoking marijuana. There are three characters in the story-the narrator, his wife, and a blind man. The narrator, who would appear to be based on Carver himself, distances himself from the story by being an observer rather than a participant-at least at first. As the story progresses, he unobtrusively fixes himself drinks, and although it is never evident or brought out, the excess drinking throughout the story labels him as an alcoholic, albeit a recovering alcoholic.. He refers to his wife's friend as "this blind man," and it is clear he is dismissing any personal interest in the man's forthcoming visit. "I wasn't enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew" (Carver "Cathedral" 1). Even so, he offers the reader background on the

Project Finance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Project Finance - Assignment Example Unlike project finance which is considered a non-recourse option, the conventional source of funding for long term investments greatly depended on cash flows. Primarily, the classic lending principally depended on the credit rating of the borrower, since the company assets were used as security for the lending. However, due to the size of the project finance operation, the balance sheets of the participating company may be overshadowed, considering the possible lack of credit history by the special purpose vehicle that acts as the borrowing entity. Additionally, project financing has increasingly been used to fund investments as a non-recourse alternative because for an individual project, the debtor’s liabilities will not be remedied using the project sponsor’s assets. Instead of relying on the creditworthiness of the project sponsor, credit assessment is based on the expected cash flows of the project. The project sponsor is therefore relieved from any interest paymen ts or liability associated with servicing of the project. Similarly, a limited recourse in project financing implies that certain responsibilities and obligations of the project sponsor are incapacitated. ... Although the US corporations recorded a lower use of project finance compared to the foreign counterparts, the $34 billion investment in 2004 surpassed the $25 billion that was invested in new businesses by venture capitalists, and was half the $73 billion raised by stock listed companies via IPOs. From the study, project financed corporation investments were only 19% of the US corporations while 53% of international firms were project financed. Therefore, project finance has a 50% chance, and growing, over traditional corporate finance. The major short-comings of project finance First, the numerous participants involved in project financing have each a specific interest in mind. The complexity of the transactions results in conflicts of interest during risk diversification; lengthy negotiations and escalating costs for compensating parties that have accepted risks. Secondly, higher prices result because of the limited channels of enhancing credit risk to acceptable levels by banks. Consequently, increases in costs for due diligence services by consultants, engineers and lawyers are impacted by the increases in cost of credit. Thirdly, the complexity of the transaction structure and the lengthy documentation causes an increase in the interest on project financings channeled to a project sponsor compared to direct loans of equal magnitude. These costs accrue from the time spent during the evaluation of the project and documentation by the technical experts, lenders and lawyers employed by the project sponsor; cost of insurance cover against country risk; costs of employing technical professionals to oversee the project and adherence to the financing agreement; and costs of compensating lenders and third parties for accepting risk. The fourth disadvantage of project

Object and Data Modelling Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Object and Data Modelling - Assignment Example The participants accessing the system, who can be either the diver or the customer, are both required to register on the system or sign up with their personal information. Personal information comprises of the names, sex, the users year of birth, mobile number, and email addresses of the system end users. The system is divided into a driver and client subsystem that categorically showcase the attributes and features required by the system. The registration details for sign up process are mandatory in order to allow automatic validation of the end user. The end users are expected to input additional information to support the subsequent data required for completing the sub-functions of the system. The sub-functions of the system simply include and extend other higher functions or authority within the system (SHOVAL 2007). For example getting registered on the system extends to being validated by the system. Including other use cases helps to reduce duplication of system functionalities for each user, therefore, describing other detailed parts of the system in the use case makes it easy to understand the hierarchy of actors (system end users) in the car sharing system as well. An activity diagram relatively represents the flow of information within the system showing and illustrating the sequence of activities. The conditions for the information for each activity can also be described within an activity diagram. In the case of the Car sharing system, the activity diagrams that are presented include that of the Registration and Payment process. The activity diagram shows the start and stop process for each particular activity. Designing an activity diagram requires the coordination of execution of sub-functions using a control and data flow model. The activity diagram developed and created in this particular case invokes other activities via a level of hierarchy that executes and resolves particular functions (GEORGE 2007). For

Annotated Bibliography Assignments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Annotated Bibliography Assignments - Essay Example The case of developing countries, megacities and the collective energy emissions from manufacturing plants and individual homes were cited as those that collectively produce air tremendous volume of pollutants that reacts with the atmosphere, resulting in the incidence of the so-called brown clouds (large masses of air pollution) and the depletion of the ozone layer. The investigation emphasized the increase in danger on public health by effectively pointing out that people are assaulted by pollutants coming from both the local and global sources. This paper is quite authoritative since it has been selected as one of the papers presented in the environmental conference, Beijing Forum 2008. The significance of this article rests on how the air pollution have become a global issue, wherein pollution at a specific area can spread, affecting others and spanning borders. Celikler, D. (2011). Determining the knowledge level of pre-service elementary science teachers about air pollution. El sevier: Procedia Social Behavioral Science, vol. 15. pp. 1445-1456. This study by Celikler attempted to determine the level of knowledge of pre-service elementary science teachers on the issue of air pollution. ... It was found that there are significant number of pre-service teachers who displayed ignorance on air pollution and its component-subjects. A very important contribution of this study is how it demonstrated the increasing concern for air pollution that the subject is being integrated in school curricula. The study has provided a basis for corrective action in problematic areas wherein teachers are seen to lack knowledge on air pollution. Celikler himself is a teacher, being a faculty of Ondokus Mayis University himself. He understood the subject from the point of view of an educator and an academic. Jaffal, A.A., Banat, I.M., El Mogheth, A.A., Nsanze, H., Bener, A., and Ameen, A.S. (1997). Residential Indoor Airborne Microbial Populations in the United Arab Emirates. Environmental International, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 529-533. This article is an investigation of airborne microorganisms in homes in the United Arab Emirates. This study was conducted in the city of Al-Ain and focused on an experiment for the study’s purposes involving three households. The ultimate goal of the entire research is to determine whether the microorganisms found in UAE households have adverse impact on human health. The findings of the study revealed that there are a good number of organisms present in houses but most of these are harmless or have no significant harmful effect on humans. For example, nine groups of bacteria and fungi were identified and that their presence is determined by the level of hygiene of the human inhabitants. One can scarcely criticize the methodology of the research. The researchers, who are medical doctors and respected academics in the field, perused several apparatus that ensured accurate

Strategic Banking Issues Regulations and Profitability Essay

Strategic Banking Issues Regulations and Profitability - Essay Example There is a host of ideas about the probable cause of the financial crisis. The classical explanation is very clear. Financial crisis are the result of monetary excesses. Monetary excesses first create boom and then there is a bust. In the crisis of 2008, we had a housing boom and bust, and these in turn led to financial turmoil in the United States and rest of the world.The monetary policy was strategically loose. The interest rate setting based on macroeconomic variables had shifted significantly from the rates prescribed by the policy makers. The Federal Reserve said that the interest rates would be low for a considerable period and then would rise at a measured pace. These actions were irregular government interventions to reduce the fear of deflation that Japan had faced in the 1990s.There are a few competing explanations for the crisis. One of the arguments is called ‘Global Savings Glut.’ Proponents of this concept argue that the low interest rates in 2002-2004 wer e caused by global factors and thus monetary authorities have nothing to do. This alternative explanation focuses on global saving. It argues that there was an excess of world saving or a ‘global saving glut’ as they say and it pushed interest rates down in the United States and other countries. But the numbers from the International Monetary Fund says a different story. The numbers tells that the global savings rate as a percentage of world’s GDP in 2002-04 was very low compared to the 1970s and 1980s.... The Federal Reserve said that the interest rates would be low for a considerable period and then would rise at a measured pace. These actions were irregular government interventions to reduce the fear of deflation that Japan had faced in the 1990s (Taylor, 2009, pp. 3-4). There are a few competing explanations for the crisis. One of the arguments is called ‘Global Savings Glut.’ Proponents of this concept argue that the low interest rates in 2002-2004 were caused by global factors and thus monetary authorities have nothing to do. This alternative explanation focuses on global saving. It argues that there was an excess of world saving or a ‘global saving glut’ as they say and it pushed interest rates down in the United States and other countries. But the numbers from the International Monetary Fund says a different story. The numbers tells that the global savings rate as a percentage of world’s GDP in 2002-04 was very low compared to the 1970s and 1980 s (Taylor, 2009, pp. 5-6). The crisis started as the fall of subprime lending market. Here the monetary interaction with the subprime mortgage problem needs to be understood. In the summer of 2007, the United States first experienced a striking contraction in wealth. The risk spread increased, and the credit market deteriorated. The 2007 United States sub-prime crisis has its roots in falling housing prices and this led to higher default levels particularly among less credit-worthy borrowers. The impact of these defaults on the financial sector has been largely exaggerated due to the complex bundling of obligations that was thought to spread risk efficiently. Unfortunately, the ensuing tools were extremely

International Marketing Mix Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International Marketing Mix - Essay Example In case of the consumer base enjoyed by the company, there is a sharp segmentation in terms of the target group. The basic target group of the company includes people in the upper income group starting from the age of 30 and above. Further, the people who have retired and are in the age group of 50 and above, serve as a major source of profitability. Another important source of income for the product is the Internet. Therefore, the important element in the application of the entry point strategy for Tutbury’s is to recognise the age and income groups that predominantly define the demographics in India, before going on to carry out segmentation and reach suitability in terms of the marketing mix. In this case, the entry point strategy may be used as a preliminary process that will help develop the marketing mix. This entry point strategy has been defined throughout the paper in the various elements of the marketing mix so as to find a suitable base for segmentation and subseque nt brand positioning.Entry Point StrategyIn terms of the suitable model to be used for the development of a relevant marketing plan and strategy, we have made use of the International Market Entry Mode Strategy for this company. This strategy is ideal for those companies that wish to diversify geographically. (Walter et al, 1988) This strategy along with others that have to do with market segmentation and brand positioning for maximum customer satisfaction will be used in order to evolve a strategy that is best suited for the purpose.... This is the reason for choosing India as the country where a suitable marketing mix for a brand like Tutbury's will be suggested. Also, in this regard, the paper will carry out a discussion of Tutubury's current marketing and segmentation strategy in order to arrive on the aspects where the entry mode strategy can be introduced and defined to suit the consumer preference in India. About Tutbury's: Born and marketed during the 1920s to the 1960s, Tutbury's was named Thomas, Webb and Corbett to start with until it was known by its present name in 1984, owing to the spot of it factory which was in a 15th century village named Tutbury. 2006 saw a strategic move on Tutbury's part where its factory chose to be based at Stroke - on - Trent, instead of Tutbury's. The branding of Tutubry's has been largely based on norms that revolve around exclusivity and a certain amount of mystery with the nitty gritties of the company. The basic finding that this paper will work on is that Tutbury's has c apitalised on the lifestyles of a certain section of people so as to form a brand identity of its won. As far as the actual product is concerned, it is imperative to identify where its unique features lie. In this regard, Tutbury's is a product that works on the highest quality of glass which is produced primarily from a high standard of full lead crystal. This crystal has a crystal element that can be estimated at over 30%. In case of the consumer base enjoyed by the company, there is a sharp segmentation in terms of the target group. The basic target group of the company includes people in the upper income group starting from the age of 30 and above. Further, the people who have retired and are in the age group of 50 and above, serve as a major source of

Assignments Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Assignments - Assignment Example It relates an argument that exist between the beer producing company (Miller Coors) and the Boricuas For a positive image. It cites communications between the various parties and assumes a business tone. The writer wants us to understand and feel the tension between the two parties; he quotes specific persons, however, the reader fails to give an opinion on the matter. The two documents offer insightful current information in an understandable format. The first article presents the argument that the installation of the bike corrals will give a solution to the increased demand for bike parking. The writer supports the claim by presenting evidence from sources such as the DOT website and individuals, Aussie Saavedra a 22 year old musician who shares the agony of searching for a bike parking. The writer’s opinion supports the claim that the installation of the bike corrals will ease the parking troubles especially for those that park illegally, by locking their bikes on trees or street signs. The second article is based on the argument that the Coors Light Company produced Beer Cans that offended the Puerto Ricans. The writer goes ahead to clarify his claim by presenting the argument between the Coors and the Boricuas For a positive image. He quotes various statements that each party presented in their defense but supports no party. The first document has clear cut sections that are ideally independent since the writer presents a different idea in each section. The second document, however, has section that overlaps and are dependent on each other making it hard to understand one without reading the other since the dialogue between the two parties seems to flow. The paragraphs in these documents are medium in size and are mutually exclusive but convey the flow of thought. The organization of the documents made it possible to skim through the document and get the gist. The documents are arranged in such a way that the most

The Hunger Games Essays That Shows Katniss Qualities Essay Example for Free

The Hunger Games Essays That Shows Katniss Qualities Essay Have you ever been taken away from your family and friends? Been forced into a game where to stay alive is the only way to win? The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is about sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in the country of Panem from the far- off city called the Capitol. The Capitol divides in districts. It is harsh, cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games until the end of the death and only one survive. Strength and kind Katniss faces challenges and survives the Hunger Games. Katniss has used her strength to try and get through the Hunger Games. When Peeta Mellark had gotten cut by Cato’s sword, he was deeply wounded. Katniss has to try and treat him in order to save his life. She runs toward the Cornucopia without cares of her own to get the bag pack of medicine that will survive Peeta’s life. Also, Katniss has bow and arrows that shows her strength. With her bow and arrows, she finds food and kills her enemies. She can do many things and can last longer throughout the Hunger Games. She acknowledges, â€Å"So I focus on the one really good thing that’s happened since I landed in the arena. I have a bow and arrows! A full dozen arrows if you count the one I retrieved in the tree. They bear no trace of the noxious green slime that came from Glimmer’s body†(197). She had also used bow and arrows when she was in District 12 to help support her mother and her sister, Prim. Along with her strength, she has also kindness for others that succeed her to win the Hunger Games. Katniss goes to the Cornucopia to get the bag pack of medicine that will help to save Peeta’s life. At the feast Clove attacks on Katniss but before killing her, Clove makes a foment about Rue. Thresh hears her and survives Katniss from Clove. He doesn’t kill Katniss because Katniss was rue ally and he feels that he owes her. Katniss acknowledges, â€Å" I decorate her body in the flowers. Covering the ugly wound. Wreathing her face. Weaving her hair with bright colors†(237). That shows Katniss loves Rue because she looks like Prim. In conclusion, the author wants to show us how we can face difficult problems in our life with the help of our qualities. If we have good qualities, we can win every challenge. I have a friend who lives in country of India, city is called Bihar. Bihar government is very cruel and harsh. The political status of this city is not good. Bihar city is poor and struggling with food poverty. The people of Bihar are controlling by their government. The girls cannot go to schools and colleges in this city. My friend has very intelligent and has good qualities. She is president of team that is against the government of Bihar. They use their strength and power to change the rules of their city. Finally, they succeeded in their challenge. Like those People or Katniss we can use our qualities to succeed in our life.

Total Quality Management Essay Example for Free

Total Quality Management Essay Quality has become a significant element among the competitive factors in the operations system. Quality is now recognized as a powerful strategic weapon, enables the organization to continually sustain in a global competition. Quality can improve operation management by emphasizing the operation management to focus on producing product that is fit for the purpose of the users, based on Jurans view of quality. The issues of quality is defined by Deming as to produce product that is satisfy to the needs of customers, who plays an essence role in production system. To meet both of the issues of quality, operation management may employ Quality Function Deployment, which is part of the Company Wide Quality Control in Japan under a strict Japanese Industrial Standard, and is refer as the voice of the customers used to translate customers expectations in term of specific requirements, into instructions on how a product should be developed. Dr Mizuno, the Professor of Tokyo created the QFD system and was first applied in Mitsubishi, Heavy Industries, Ltd, in Kobe Shipyard, Japan in 1972.(Yoji Akao, 1990).

Consequences of Outsourcing Human Resources

Consequences of Outsourcing Human Resources This essay will attempt to highlight the issues pertaining to the effects of outsourcing human resource management. The essay will be structured as follows: An Overview on Outsourcing of HRM The Rationale of Outsourcing The advantages of Outsourcing The disadvantages of Outsourcing An analysis on effect of Outsourcing An Overview on Outsourcing of HRM-The HRO The Outsourcing is the new management mantra which came into existence during the turbulent times of 90s, where it was seen as an effective tool for cost cutting. Outsourcing basically means hiring of the relevant business function from a third party. This phenomenon made rapid advancement and very soon engulfed nearly all area of the business. The function of Human Resource management has also been affected by it. Although in HRM outsourcing is a relatively newer term but the economic crisis of global meltdown has helped it to a stage where more and more organisations and businesses are opting for it. Following are main findings of the survey carried out by CIPD (2009) in the UK- HR outsourcing (HRO) is used by 29% of the survey respondents. Most organisations are increasing their use of HRO. Over the last five years, 20% reported significant increases in HRO activity, and 44% reported a slight increase in HRO activity. Only 11% have reduced their reliance on HRO. Only 44% of those organisations that outsource other business functions also outsource HR. HR outsourcing is used predominantly in private sector organisations, with 69% of those outsourcing HR working in this sector. HRO is pursued by 25% of public sector organisations in this sample. The private service industry dominates the use of HRO, with 50% currently undertaking HRO activities. Twenty-four per cent of HRO activity is in manufacturing, 22% in public services, and 4% in voluntary and charitable organisations The top drivers for HRO include access to skills and knowledge (71%), quality (64%) and cost reduction (61%). Organisations stressing clear objectives and targets in these areas are also more likely to have achieved them. The top three wholly outsourced areas include legal activity (69%), payroll (66%) and pensions (64%). The areas partially outsourced the most include training (49%) and recruitment and selection (47%). HRO is not relieving pressure for the internal HR team, with 43% confirming HRO failure in this case. Source- CIPD survey 2009 Introduction to HRO HRO is often confused with the two more associated terms -HR shared services and HR expert leasing. To begin, it is necessary to distinguish HRO from HR shared services and HR expert leasing. The main reason for this confusion is the complexity involved in Shared Services and HR expert leasing. HR shared services are also known as co-sourcing (Shen et al. 2003). The shared service has two forms. First, there is a shared service set up by large organizations to provide assistance and services not only to their own departments or subsidiaries, but also to external client organizations as an outsourcing business. Second, the other type of shared service refers to those set up, again by large and often multinational or multi-establishment organizations, aimed at restructuring their service provision through recentralization and of a creation of an internal market system. This is very popular in large enterprises, such as Motorola, Fuji, HSBC, IBM and Nokia. HR expert Leasing refers to the concept used by some professional employer organizations of leasing HR experts to clients (Laabs 1996) due to the fact that when the option of leasing employees is used, HR is more likely to be kept in-house, thus HR expert leasing should not be regarded as HRO. Similarly the shared services which are designed at providing services to internal and external clients cannot be in strict sense be regarded as HRO. Thus we see that in both the cases, i.e. HR expert leasing and the Shared services, there is no significance of the third party, which as per the definition of HRO is an prerequisite for them to be classified as Outsourcing. Hence we see that there is a clear demarcation between all the three services being used to provide HR support to the organisation. The commencement of Outsourcing in HR functions commenced primarily with the field of Recruitment. The Business organisations felt the need for recruitment as an independent function which could be transferred to third party for a measure of cost cutting and bettered shared service. Soon the functions such as Pay roll management, benefits and legal advice, were also outsourced. If we analyse the key decision for whether the particular function is outsource or not is based on the fact that whether the function is a core function or not? The rationale behind the Outsourcing The five competitive forces (Charles R Greer; Stuart A Youngblood; David A Gray, 1999) that can be called as the driving force for the companies to outsource some or all of their HR activities are: downsizing, rapid growth or decline, globalization, increased competition, and restructuring. Downsizing: The inevitable restructuring of entire industries has recast HR departments as formulators and implementers of downsizing. The pressure of reducing costs has now made HR themselves as targets of downsizing due to the overwhelming demands for reduced costs for HR services. Rapid Growth or Decline: Again the Costs as a major factor, the retrenched firms, or those in decline, face incredible pressures to reduce costs, while high-growth firms face similar pressures to monitor costs. HR outsourcing presents the option of cost reduction Globalization: Due to this, the companies now staff comprising of host country or third party nationals, this required harmonizing pay and benefit packages in accordance with the local laws demands specialized expertise. Larger vendors that focus on compensation and benefits offer these specialized services and deliver expertise built on experience and concentration in particular regions of the world. Increased Competition: Increased competition, both on domestic and international front, emphasizes the value-added role of products and services. Firms that subscribe to the balanced scorecard approach to measure effectiveness look not only at financial measures of firm success, but also at customer and employee measures of service quality. As per General Electrics CEO Jack Welch- He pays attention to only three measures of firm effectiveness-cash flow, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction. If HR departments are to be responsive to both internal and external customers, they  must look for ways to improve the quality and responsiveness of their services. Proponents argue that outsourcing offers HR an option to satisfy competing demands for improved service and responsiveness at a reasonable cost. Structuring: Firms that redeploy HR generalists to serve key divisions or business units of the organization can transform HR into a service role. Such a transformation serves as a source of competitive advantage for the firm. These new, service-quality cultures are not easy to build and sustain, particularly among established, traditional, or entrenched HR departments. Strategically, HR outsourcing decisions can potentially be part of a larger pattern of responses designed to deliver hard-to-imitate, hard-to-substitute, value-added services that enhance the value and quality of the firms products and services. After having seen the driving force behind the HRO we will now try to analyse various models of HRO as conceptualised by the resource-based view (RBV) (e.g. Barney 1991; Ulrich 1996); that suggests that the resources of a firm are rare and valuable and cannot easily be substitutable, are more likely to achieve sustained competitive advantage. According to the RBV, a firm should only outsource those resources which are replaceable or imitable not its core functions. This concept is in line with the core and periphery concept (Atkinson 1984), which can be applied to evaluate what HR activities are more likely to be outsourced. According to Atkinson, the core is defined as a numerically stable core group which will conduct the organizations key, firm-specific activities (Atkinson 1984: 29). The core can be redeployed easily between activities and tasks and has functional flexibility. All other function which support the core are known as the periphery, this provides the organization wit h an advantage to vary the numbers with fluctuation in labour demand (known as numerical flexibility). Ulrich (1998) suggested that core activities creates unique value to employees, customers and investors and are transformational in nature. Non-core activities are easily duplicated and replicated and are of transactional nature. Thus we find that HR core activities include top-level strategy, HR policies, employee relations, and line management responsibilities (e.g. appraisal and discipline) and the peripheral activities include specialist activities (e.g. recruitment and outplacement), routine personnel administration (e.g. payroll and pensions), relocation, and professional HR advice (e.g. legal advice related to employment regulations) {Finn (1999) and Lepak and Snell (1998)}. Thus according to the core and periphery theory, while the administrative and transactional functions (periphery) can be outsourced, it is in the interest of the firm to keep the strategic parts of HR (c ore) remain in-house. However, in practise, the core and periphery concept is difficult to distinguish as some HR activities appear to be purely administrative, but actually are not. For instance, recruitment is often seen as suitable for outsourcing, but its a key function that should stay in-house. To ascertain these arguments, we next shall analyse the advantages and the disadvantages of Outsourcing of HR functions. The advantages of Outsourcing As mentioned above one of the major benefits of HR outsourcing is Cost Saving but is not the only advantages of the Outsourcing. It provides a wide array of advantages specially to the small and rapidly growing businesses with limited resources, to achieve the same level of efficiency and service consistency in their HR functions as larger companies, without having to invest in large amounts of capital. The advantages of outsourcing can be enumerated as follows:- Cost Savings. Companies can realise substantial cost savings by outsourcing HR activities and functions. Torode (2000: 2) reported a success story about cost reduction about Trident Inc. reducing its HR administrative burden by 65 per cent and uncovering US$40,000 in overpayments for insurance premiums by using Employease Inc.s web-based human-resources application. The same is also supported by Gilley et al. (2004) that outsourcing training and payroll could lower administrative and overhead costs of training staff. Greater Focus on Core Business Activities. Due to globalisation companies face aggressive competition both locally and from abroad and thus can incur a tremendous amount in terms of lost business and loss of competitive advantage by spending more than required time and resources in non-core or administrative functions. Outsourcing enables companies to focus on their core competencies and to direct their full attention towards market dynamics and business strategy. Greater Participation by HR in Value-Adding Activities. Outsourcing certain HR administrative tasks enables the HR department to free themselves of time-consuming administrative tasks and direct their attention towards helping to improve their companys business performance thus fulfilling there roles as that of a strategic partner. Greater Efficiency. Due to the vertical specialisation and intense competition the outsourcing providers can usually perform the task more efficiently than the internal HR department. This is also due to the fact that service provider has a specialised team and since provides wide array of services to various outsourcer, hence at times can have more resources as well as experience to deal with any situation. This is specially true for medium and small firm which have a smaller HR department. Greater Flexibility of a Decentralized Structure. The business environment is very volatile, presenting newer challenges to companies. Outsourcing provides flexibility by removing those responsibilities and constraints that make it difficult to react effectively to changing conditions and issues. A leaner, more focused company engaged in fewer activities, is better able to react to environmental changes. Risk Reduction. Risk reduction is a major benefit of HR outsourcing. As the outsourced tasks are the outsourcing providers core competency, they are unlikely to make lesser mistakes as compared with the clients internal HR staff. Furthermore in case of eventuality of mistakes, the service provider can be held accountable for losses to its client thus lowering the level of risk. More so ever the firms can enjoy the benefits of the HR functions without having to invest heavily in those HR functions, at the same time also keeping the option to change the outsourcing supplier if required. More Objective Process. Outsourcing provides a certain degree of objectivity to the functions of HR department as service providers are not affected by political, cultural and bureaucratic conflicts intrinsic to the firm, which prevents the department from being fully productive and aligned with the strategic goals of the organisation. Outsourcing HR functions brings the objectivity of a third party into the process. Disadvantages of Outsourcing Cost-Savings Not Always Achieved. Laabs (1996) argued that HRO in fact leads to increasing costs because it may be less expensive to administer HR functions in-house, the same is also supported by Friel (2003),who argues that one major reason for higher costs of HR outsourcing is that HRO is still in its infancy. For example, software products must be tailored to organizations requirements, pushing up development costs. The following are examples showing increasing costs as a result of HRO. BP Amocos international contract with Exult increased costs by one third in 2001 (Broad 2002). BT admitted that costs were on the rise in its contract for HR service provision with Accenture HR Services in 2002 (Broad 2002). The September 2002 audit revealed that Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the United States paid up US$2.6 million to VA sytems well above the original estimate of US$1.2 million.(Friel 2003). Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of America paid NCS Pearson, US$700 million as against originally estimate of US$103 million,by the end of 2002. (Friel 2003). Greer et al. (1999) found in their study that specialized vendors were unable to achieve greater economies of scale and cost savings due to the magnitude of the internal HR operations of some large companies,. More importantly, as Greer et al. (1999) warned, outsourcing produced no cost savings when only two or three vendors dominate a specialized market. Caulkin (2002: 10) has supported Greer et al. by arguing that the argument of economies of scale and specialization is self-serving, benefiting providers, not purchasers. People Issues. This is one of the most debatable aspects of Outsourcing. An extensive study by Hackett Benchmarking Research revealed that companies consider the greatest obstacles to outsourcing to be cultural and political factors. The services being outsourced to an outside entity poses a threat to the employee trust in the system. Further more the vendor working environment and ethics might not be commiserating with the firms which would bring out contention of issues. For example (Broad 2002), when Bank of America formed an alliance with Exult which included a major outsourcing arrangement, employees were worried about the implications of the deal for their positions. It is only when they understood that it was Exult, and not Bank of America, that would make the required investments, that they became reassured and accepted the alliance Problems with the Outsourcing Provider. The providers might be faced with issue where he is forced to cover up for any mistakes for which the service provider can be held liable. Further more the organisational culture of the provider would also be a binding factor as they can be a cause low service standardsr, a lack of attention to regulatory and business requirements, or unmet objectives and timeframes by the outsourcing provider. Loss of Control. Outsourcing HR functions can lead to a loss of control by the buying company. According to recent study by Accenture, 48% of executives surveyed stated that the fear of a loss of operational control was the greatest impediment to expanding their use of outsourcing. Their can be a fundamental mismatch of hierarchy in the firm as the line manager and the service provider might not be able to synchronise their working. Consequences of outsourcing Major implication, both in terms of their (changing) roles and their experience of the HR services of Outsourcing have been felt by HR professionals, line managers, employees who receive the services, and outsourced HR staff who provide the services. In-house HR Professionals. Most noticeable impact on in-house HR professionals will be in terms of the nature of their work and their career patterns, although due to scarce literature, the extent is difficult to predict. Ulrich (1998) proposes four new roles for HR; among those he recommends sharing of HR work in varying proportions among the line management, employees, external consultants, and other groups. But he does not really discuss the rationale by which this distribution of work would be determined (Procter Currie, 1999). Nor have the implications for their career prospects been contemplated. Greer et al.s (1999) study suggests that as a consequence of outsourcing of HR activities, the user company would mandatorily have to deploy in-house HR generalists who know can manage the outsourcing relationships. However, this also poses a threat of work intensification for these HR professionals, as they might still be relied by their colleagues to provide the service because they may be used to it or are unfamiliar with the new system. For example, Shen et al.s study (2004) indicates that the job content for the NHS maintenance manager of National Health Services (NHS) trust hospital in the United Kingdom has undergone severe work intensification and radical change ever since the outsourcing of maintenance. The same can also happen to the HR managers when outsourcing HR takes place, since both functions require intimate knowledge of the organization and a relatively high level of relationship management. HR outsourcing also raises concerns about the career prospects of the HR staff. One of the significant changes to career prospect would be Availability of fewer career development options for specialists as compared to generalist. At the same time, as there would be only a limited activities being performed in-house, general HR experience would be hard to gain. This will also raise question about the type of training to be provided to HR professionals that existing training for the HR profession is generalist-oriented, while in future the service provider would need specialists. Therefore, outsourcing HR could affect the in-house HR staff in ways such as job intensification, change in job content, reduction of career development opportunity, and increased levels of stress, especially when the relationship with the service provider is strained and the quality of services unsatisfactory. More broadly, the role that HR professionals play will be dependent upon their interaction with other groups both within and outside the organization (Procter Currie, 1999). Communication can be more difficult, especially when there is geographical, as well as organizational, separation. But if the onward march of HR outsourcing is a given, then the HR professionals will need to learn how to play the game (Turnbull, 2002). Line Managers. One of the apparent rationales of Outsourcing has been to delegate the softer aspects of the HR function to the line management ie involvement in and ownership of HR decisions. For example, Vernon et al. (2000) found that in Europe it is a common practise for sharing responsibilities between the HR specialists and the line management, in regard to the policy making: About a third of senior HR specialists reported an increase in line management responsibility for HR issues over the last three years (Vernon et al.,2000, p. 7). The role of line managers in executing HR policies and shaping HR practices has long been acknowledged (e.g., Currie Procter, 2001; Marchington Parker,1990; McConville Holden, 1999; Procter Currie, 1999). This has resulted in line managers taking on additional responsibilities, thus intensifying their role. This can at times all draw away or cloud the focus of line manager from their primary role. Also in reality, some of the smaller tasks may take longer to explain via electronic devices and are easier for the line managers to do themselves. The lack of HR support on-site seemed to have caused work intensification for the line managers, since they no longer have easy access to the HR staff. Another aspect which is pertinent to mention here is the competence of line manager. Line managers in the United Kingdom have been criticized for their lack of HR skills and competence, especially on legal matters such as discipline, dismissal, redundancy, and equal opportunities (e.g., Currie Procter, 2001; Hall Torrington, 1998; Mc-Conville Holden, 1999). They have also been criticized for their lack of interest in managing human resources, as HRM tends to be low down in their operational priority. In addition, they tend to focus on the hard, rather than soft, aspects of the HRM issues. Employees Receiving HR Services. The most significant outcome of this has been on the employees as they find difficulty in divulging confidential or private information with unknown HR person over the phone or online. This can also be termed as loss of Human touch from the term Human Resources. Research carried out by Feng Lee Cook (2006) about the employees response in Consult-Corp UK also indicates the same. Number of employees felt loss of emotional aspect as they felt that staff in the services centre, provide answers by reading off the screen or the manual and the entire process is mechanical. Another consequence of the outsourcing has been the lack of clarity of ownership of problems that may occur in HR services. With no HR department, at times the employees could find a void for issues such as grievance against their line manager itself especially when the grievance concerned the line manager or if the line manager responsible for their performance appraisal. All these change s may cause some fear and resistance among the workforce. BP Amocos outsourcing of HR is a case in point (see Higginbottom, 2001). As a result, it may actually be more costly for the organization to acquire the HR services from the external provider when all the indirect costs (both financial and emotional) that may incur in-house are calculated. This is especially true for large organizations in which employees are highly professional and highly paid. Outsourced HR Staff. Traditionally, skilled and knowledge-intensive work such as HR activities has been provided by workers of status. Employers tend to have an employment relationship with these employees that is characterized by relatively high levels of trust in order to elicit greater commitment and effort from the workers (Streeck, 1987). It has been argued that the tacit knowledge possessed by these workers is vital for the organizational competitiveness (Cooke, 2002; Manwaring, 1984; Pavitt, 1991; Polanyi, 1966; Willman, 1997). Outsourcing of this type of work replaces the status approach by a (short-term) contractual relationship of tight specifications of all aspects as a predominant mechanism of control. This mode of employment relationship does not encourage workers to provide extra-functional contribution to enhance the firms competitiveness (Fox, 1974). In fact, the potential problem of gaining commitment from the nonemployee workers is well recognized by organizations a nd academics (Cooke, Hebson, Carroll, 2005). For the employees of the service provider, job security may be low and firm-specific knowledge may be lacking as a result of multiclient services and the standardization of work processes. Indeed, lack of critical expertise and a customer service focus, or failure to take the interests of their client into account when delivering their HR services, have been found to be some of the main reasons for the failure of the HR outsourcing relationships (Greer et al., 1999). Additional complications in the employment relationships may occur where the HR outsourcing decision involves the transfer of existing HR staff to the external service provider (see Table 1). For the employees concerned, the transferred HR staff are likely to be protected, at least in principle, by some sort of employment regulation of the specific country (e.g., the Transfer of Undertaking Protection of Employment [TUPE] regulations in the United Kingdom). In theory, the em ployment contract of the transferred workers is preserved intact under TUPE regulations. In reality, however, their terms and conditions and other experience of work may change significantly, albeit incrementally (Cooke et al., 2004), since the impact of TUPE has proven to be only marginal to date (Colling, 1999; Wenlock Purcell, 1990). As Domberger pointed out, the principal effect of TUPE is to ensure minimum standards are maintained in negotiated transfers. The legislation is designed merely to assure the continuity of employment (Domberger, 1998, p. 143). For example, Cooke et al.s (2004) study of outsourcing in the public sector reveals that work intensification and increased performance monitoring are common features of post-transfer working life. Outsourcing offers the new employers opportunities to improve organizational performance by creating change through reducing staff numbers; introducing new skills and working practices; and by modifying individual incentives, employ ment terms and conditions, and attitudes to the workplace Domberger, 1998). None of these changes can be prevented effectively by TUPE, although not all of these changes necessarily point to a worsening scenario to the disadvantage of the workers (Cooke et al., 2004). However, this raises a question as to the extent to which the client organization can expect their ex-employees to (continue to) demonstrate loyalty and commitment in providing their services. These employees may be resentful that they are being dumped by their former employer and/or may have taken on their new employers organizational values that are not necessarily in line with those of their former employer. These issues may be exacerbated if the new employer has also taken on staff from other client organizations, thus creating a work environment with multiple cultures, multiple identities, and competing demands for preferential treatment from client organizations (Rubery et al., 2003). These issues also present a serious challenge for the new employer. The outsourcing firm has to manage a fragmented workforce, one where employees have different employment packages. At the same time, the outsourcing firm is trying to implement a coherent HR strategy and a consistent organizational culture while delivering customized HR services to its client organizations. Conclusions The aim of this article has been to provide an overview of the various aspects of HR outsourcing with a combination of empirical evidence and academic debate. The intention has been to provide a critical review of the state of affairs in the practice of HR outsourcing and to raise issues that require further academic research and attention from organizations interested in HR outsourcing. Existing literature on HR outsourcing appears  to be rather limited in general. This is perhaps due to both research and practice in HR outsourcing being in its early stages of development. There is a longer tradition of firms outsourcing discretional aspects of HR (e.g., payroll, training, health and safety,  legal advice), areas in which they lack inhouse expertise and that are deemed noncost- effective to develop and maintain inhouse. Existing evidence suggests that HR outsourcing has increased substantially over the last decade, although some authors remain cautious about the future growth of HR outsourcing. Training and payroll appear to be the favorite aspects of HR outsourcing. In addition, recruitment, taxation, and legal compliance are often outsourced. However, employee relations, HR planning, career  management, and performance appraisal are less likely to be outsourced, as they are more likely to be seen as core competencies or activities. Even so, there are no clear patterns of the types of HR activities that are outsourced. Existing evidence also suggests that the primary motives for HR outsourcing are to reduce cost, to gain external expertise, to enhance strategic focus of the in-house HR function, and to improve service quality. Cost reduction and sell-out strategy are also important factors for making decisions. While the overwhelming objective for outsourcing appears to be cost reduction, both the transaction-cost economics model (Williamson, 1985) and the resource-based view of the firm (Barney, 1991) seem to influence firms HR outsourcing decisions. T he diverse evidence as to whether the HR outsourcing trend is set to grow or not and/or at what rate implies pragmatic decision making by firms when considering whether to outsource HR activities. Due to the limited number of empirical studies on various aspects of HR outsourcing and the fragmented and inconclusive evidence they have yielded, it is difficult to draw clear conclusions on the types of HR activities that should be outsourced and the effectiveness of HR outsourcing. In fact, evidence seems to suggest that organizations decisions in outsourcing are not always rational  (Vernon et al., 2000), nor is their process successful or the outcome effective. It is possible, however, to identify a number of research issues and practical implications that require further attention from academics and practitioners. Conclusion The resource-based view (RBV) (e.g. Barney 1991; Ulrich 1996) suggests  that a firms resources that are valuable, rare, and not easily imitable or  substitutable are more likely to achieve sustained competitive advantage. According to the RBV, a firm should focus on its core competencies and  outsource those not valuable, and imitable or substitutable resources. The  RBV is consistent with the core and periphery concept (Atkinson  1984), which can be applied to analysing what HR activities are more  likely to be outsourced. According to Atkinson, the core is defined as a  numerically stable core group which will conduct the organizations key,  firm-specific activities (Atkinson 1984: 29). The core can be redeployed  easily between activities and tasks, by means of multiskilling or through  flexible career structures, known as functional flexibility. The periphery,  however, provides the organization with the ability to increase or decrease  the organizations headcount in response to every fluctuation in demand  for labour (known as

Shikata Ganai - It Cant Be Helped :: Free Essay Writer

Shikata Ganai - It Cant Be Helped Welcome to August 6, 1945. In a final attempt to end World War II, the United States of America drops the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, a major industrial and military center. Temperatures are more sweltering than the surface of the sun. Light is resplendent. Air is thick and heavy with an enveloping radiation. John Hershey informs us of the experiences of six people that survived the planets’ first nuclear explosion in Hiroshima. Hiroshima begins by characterizing the situations of the six individuals just before and at the moment of the explosion that changed history. The book first introduces Miss Toshiko Sasaki, a personnel clerk in the East Asia Tin works, who had just turned to chat with her friend during a rest from work. Next, Dr. Masakazu Fujii, a doctor at a private hospital, was introduced as relaxing on his clinic’s porch and reading the daily newspaper, a stone’s throw away from a calm river. At the same time, Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura was watching her next door neighbor, who was making way for a larger fire escape route, through her kitchen window. Fr. Wilhelm Kleinsorge, a German priest, was lying on a couch in his room reading a magazine, corresponding with the actions of Dr. Terufumi Sasaki, a surgeon who was walking down a hospital corridor carrying blood specimens. Finally, Rev. Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto, the pastor of the Hiroshima Methodist Church, was in the process of tiredly m oving the belongings of his house of worship. Unbeknownst to these innocent civilians as they were carrying out their daily tasks, a plane called the Enola Gay silently passed unnoticed overhead and quietly dropped the world’s deadliest bomb that altered the future. A noiseless flash of light was the only warning they received, a split-second which gave them just enough time to turn their heads. The bomb detonated at ground zero, and in seconds, hell unlike any other kind unraveled. Miss Sasaki was knocked unconscious when her bookcase, due to the impact of the blast, trampled her to the ground. She lay trapped, as the bookcase had fallen on and crushed her leg, leaving her crippled. In the years to follow, she learns to overcome this disability and enters a house of Catholic nuns. She spends a great deal of her life aiding orphaned children.